Legend of Zelda: Legend Arises
by Time Holder
Summary: Part 1 of 3 marks the start of Link's journey. It is a search in the past for an evil Garo man who has been causing unknown havoc in a land very unlike Hyrule. Link is sent to destroy this man and return peace to the land before the very world itself is d
1. Prologue

Prologue:  
  
Link delivered the final blow to the beast that had been the King of Gerudos. The power of the Master Sword cut through his hard dragon-like flesh as if it were butter. Ganon fell, defenseless and beaten. Zelda stepped up to Link and turned towards the beaten Dark Lord. "Now to return you to where you belong..." She said as she sealed him back to the Forgotten Realm. They then stared at the wreck that had once been her beloved castle. As they stood there, tattered and shaken, the ground rumbled and a bright light engulfed them.  
  
Link was young again. He looked himself over; making sure everything was as it had been. He checked his equipment; it was as it had been before he had taken that horrible trip to the future. The only thing different was that he had his Fairy Ocarina. He had given back the Ocarina of Time; it was the key needed to send him back. He had handed it over happily, knowing that his old life would be better than that keepsake. He noticed a glow over a ways and went to check it out, hoping it wasn't anything bad. His small dagger wouldn't be able to fight anything that might have been brought back from the future. He peered over the top of the hill and saw some Kokiri dancing around a campfire. They were all laughing and playing and he quickly ran down and joined them.  
  
"Hey Link! Care to join us?" One of the Kokiri children said, making an unintentional joke.  
  
"Uh...I think I'll pass. I've got some things I need to see," Link said. He tried to fake a yawn but ended up just coughing.  
  
"Fine, your loss," The Kokiri said and continued playing with the others. Link walked back to his tree house and thought for a while.  
  
After a while, he pulled out his Fairy Ocarina and played Saria's song, hoping it would work. He listened afterwards for her familiar voice but just heard the buzzing of Navi at his side. Dismayed, Link left Kokiri Forest.  
  
When Link got outside he looked all around for Epona.  
  
"EPONA!" He shouted after playing her song. Soon he gave up, not even remembering that he didn't have her yet. He sat on a stump outside of the forest and stared up at the bright, shining moon. He hadn't had time to look at it since he had begun his adventure. He had almost forgotten what a moon was. He let out a sigh. He had thought that returning to his old life, having peace, would be great. He wouldn't have to worry about journeys or big ugly monsters; he could just enjoy life. But now Saria was gone, and he didn't know why. He was back to being a little kid, and he had nothing to do. He got up and kicked the stump.  
  
"I see you are quite dismayed little boy..." an eerie voice said behind him.  
  
"Who's there?" Link said, not turning around in fear of what lay behind him.  
  
"Why, turn around and look, don't worry, I don't bite...much," The voice cackled. Link turned around quickly and pulled out his sword. The thing that was now in front of him smirked.  
  
"Please, put away your weapon, that little knife couldn't even hurt me. But no worries, there's no need to. I'm here to help you. I see that you need excitement in your life...adventures! Well, tonight is your lucky night...that is, if you choose for it to be." The thing grabbed Link's hand and they both disappeared. 


	2. Chapter 1

Chapter 1: An Ancient Story Unraveled  
  
"Welcome...to Faro's Shack of Stories and Excitement!" The thing, apparently named Faro, said. He waved his eerie shadow hand around the small room. It was heavily decorated with things from all ages and adventures. As Link looked around the barely lit room, he saw a slab with some old notes on it. He pulled out his ocarina and tried to make out what the notes were. They came out as an eerie song that sounded to Link like five enemies clashing swords simultaneously. As the shriek like music echoed throughout the small home, Link covered his ears as Faro continued to gesture to different things in the room. He didn't even see Link cowering on the floor. As the music dimmed, Link slowly got up and tried to pay attention to Faro.  
  
"...An ancient civilization, some believed them to be just myths, called the Garos. The Garos were the greatest warriors in all of Ancient Hyrule. There was always peace in Ancient Hyrule because the Garos did their jobs with care, but with speed. One famous Garo, Potio, was known all throughout the land, and a few other now nonexistent lands, as the greatest hero ever to step foot in all of history...which wasn't much back then, but it still sounded nice. Now, something to know about Potio is that he was known for deceiving and sometimes murdering any partner ever assigned to him. He was a lone wolf in his jobs and many people wondered why. Something even stranger was that any job he did lived in utter peace until the end of their reign...which was usually only about ten years more. After quite a few more jobs and just as many lost civilizations, people started to wonder about Potio, and a few tried to kill him. They all failed, and their families always died not long after them. Sometimes this Potio Plague, as historians call it now, would even go on generations on...or the few generations they would have.  
  
"After a time of death and fear, no one heard from Potio, 'He died from guilt and sorrow' they all say. Us historians think differently though...yep, we know he lives. He might not be Potio the Great, or Potio the Feared anymore, but he's out there. I know he's out there because I've seen him...and so have you. You were on some great quest were you not?"  
  
"Uh...yeah, how'd you know?" Link responded.  
  
"...Historians know lots of things that would blow your little mind. Anyway, your quest was to dispose of a Dark Lord and save the future of this world right?" Faro asked.  
  
"Yes, that's one way to say it," Link said.  
  
"Well...this...Ganondorf as you call him, he's immortal and capable of many dark things right?" Faro asked. His questions were becoming more persistent.  
  
"Yes. What are you getting at with all this?" Link asked irritably.  
  
"Well that's what I brought you here for. You are to go on a quest for answers...you will go to this past that I talked about and find this Potio. You will follow him on one of his jobs and see what goes on. Then, once you have done what I command you, you must find your way back, and just a hint, it's not a hidden portal or musical key or anything. So be off with you...and may the Triforce be with you," Faro smirked at his lame joke and waved his hand at Link. A bright flash of light flew into the room and carried little Link off. Faro cursed the brightness and then hid under a small cot.  
  
"Yesss...he will sssurely meet Potio...that I can be ssssertain of..." Faro cackled an evil and dark cackle, then he vanished into the darkness of the shadows. 


	3. Chapter 2

Chapter 2: The Well of Thought  
  
Link's eyes slowly peeled open. He could barely see around him but knew that wherever he was couldn't be good. He didn't have anything with him except his sword and whatever he might have happened to still be carrying from when he left Kokiri Forest. He also noticed the annoying buzz of his fairy had ceased. He looked all around for Navi, but she was gone too. Of course, everything was gone, but at least he had gotten his wish of excitement...even though it had been from an eerie stranger made of shadow.  
  
As soon as his eyes had adjusted to the lack of light, he had gotten used to the bright light that had carried him here...wherever here was, Link looked around to try and get a hint of where he was. It was basically just a large empty well, various bones and other things he didn't even want to take a guess at were scattered around the damp floor. The only light that he could see was some a small opening at the top of the well, probably some thirty feet up. There was no rope where there could have been a bucket attached, he assumed that they didn't have things like that yet. He saw no way to get out at this time, but he was also still scatter-brained from everything Faro had told him. He knew he was in a very far back past, he just didn't know where it was. He assumed it was Ancient Hyrule as Faro had talked about, but it was hard to tell from inside a well.  
  
As Link leaned against one of the walls, and every few seconds felt droplets of water or bugs, he heard voices from above. He could hear them quite well because the hollowness of the well amplified any speech near it.  
  
"Potio got another village," One said.  
  
"What do you mean, 'Potio GOT another village'? He SAVES those villages," The other said.  
  
"You are clue less...he has to destroy them, what else could bring them to a sudden downfall? It just makes sense," The first one replied.  
  
The voices trailed off as the people walked away from the well. There was something blocking the small hole of light that Link had as the only comfort that he would see light again, and he soon got scared. It was strange for him to be scared after all he'd seen and been through, but this was a foreign land and it was different. He wasn't some big hero here with a reputation to uphold, he was just a little kid stuck in a dried out well. This Potio guy was the hero now...and apparently the villain as well. Or at least that's what he was going to find out about. 


	4. Chapter 3

Chapter 3: The Ancients  
  
As Link was about to fall asleep he heard another echo, this time from inside the well. He quickly stood up and pulled out his sword.  
  
"Who's there?" He whispered. His voice echoed through the well and vanished into some unseen hole.  
  
"Come."  
  
"Where?" Link asked, puzzled and more afraid than he had been in a long time.  
  
"Follow." Link saw a flash of something in the corner of his eye and he went in that direction. There was a doorway hidden in the well that he had overlooked this whole time. It was too dark for him to even see himself, and now he was walking blind into some foreign, or more foreign really, area with some unknown person who only said one word at a time. This was not Link's day.  
  
"Here," The figure said when they had walked quite a ways down into the secret passage. Link was handed a dim torch, just enough to see himself and about a foot in front of himself. The light from the torch reflected off his sword and he could see many other things, but he soon got scared of what he was seeing and put away his sword. There were too many dead bodies and shadow figures for him to watch it. He just kept following the hovering thing in front of him and hoped it would all be over soon. He suddenly liked the sound of dull, boring peace.  
  
"This...Home of Ancients," The thing said once they had stopped walking. They were now in a dimly lit, circular room that was very damp and musty. There were small pools of what Link hoped was water scattered throughout the room.  
  
"Why you here outsider?" The Ancient said.  
  
"I...was put here. I'm on a quest. I need to find the Garos," Link explained. He spoke slowly like the Ancient, he didn't want to confuse them and get on their bad side when they first met.  
  
"Do not speak their name in here!" The Ancient shouted at Link.  
  
"I...I'm sorry...I didn't know. What's so bad about them?" Link asked.  
  
"They...made us...how we are. We were...humans," The Ancient replied.  
  
"I see...how did they make you...shadows?" Link asked, mesmerized by this story.  
  
"...The one you seek...Potio. He has great power...evil and dark power. Greater than any man has seen and ever will see. He banished us to the dark realms," The Ancient said. It hung its head.  
  
"You mean he put you and all your people in the shadows? How could he get a power like this?" Link asked.  
  
"No one knows. They all still think he's some saint. He's really a Demon here to terrorize our little world and prevent us from a future," The Ancient answered.  
  
"Why would he prevent you from a future? That would mean destroying himself even. And he doesn't even know the future; it's a good place. If this is the same Hyrule as I know, then the future is still there, so he must have failed," Link said assuringly.  
  
"Well all the same, you're here to destroy him, and even though I'm sure that's a suicide mission, I'll help you out in anyway I can. I'll have my whole race help you," The Ancient said. Link was sure that this shadow thing would have been smiling if it had a face. But Link did and he couldn't have smiled wider.  
  
"Thank you very much. I really appreciate your help. But now how do I get to the surface to actually do something?" Link asked.  
  
"There is another opening to the left of the big room in front of us. From there you're on your own, no one has been past there since we had been banished here. It's too bright for us. But please, take this with you." The Ancient floated off and came back with a package in a skin cloth. Link didn't know what kind of animal it was made of, or what kind of animals even existed now, but he took the package carefully and opened it. Inside was a very well crafted bow. Next to it was a quiver of bone tipped arrows.  
  
Link was amazed that he would get a gift this nice from a stranger, and even more amazed that they had the ability to make things like these in this age. He knew there was an abundance of bone in this well but he had no idea how they got the wood or fibers for the bow. And the beautiful red feathers that were neatly tied to the back of each arrow, there must have been forty of them, were amazing. Link knew now that this civilization was more advanced than any of this time should be, and he wondered if that had something to do with why they were down here. He had gotten so many questions already in this damp cave of a well, and he hoped to find answers once he got out. 


	5. Chapter 4

Chapter 4: A Link in the Past  
  
There were many things in that well, it had to have been more than a well for it was as large as one of his childhood dungeons, and all of them had been more strange and foreign than the last. Link regretted for the first time in his 11 years that he didn't have Navi at his side, he was the only thing he had left of the future...or was that his present? He couldn't be sure yet because according to the Ancient, the future will not exist at this moment, but his present would be the time he's at right now. As Link went on up the ladder that led out of the well, which was really no more than some chunks of rock that had been chipped out to make handholds, he thought more and more about this quest and what it might end in. He thought about the Ancient saying that it was a suicide mission, and that Potio was trying to erase the future that Link knew existed. He wondered if Potio might know this future too, and maybe him coming back to this time might have changed anything in the future. Maybe because he came back, that made sure that Potio would destroy the future and that he'd be stuck here forever. Link tried to erase that memory and was soon caught on another thought. But that was quickly interrupted as his hand reached up to firm ground. He pulled himself up and was soon in light.  
  
He had to squint to see anything, he had gotten quite used to the dark, and what he did see was too strange for him to want to look. This village looked as if it were present time. Except for more rock structures and less metal, this could very well have been a present day (or his present as it was before he came here anyway) village.  
  
It looked nothing like Hyrule did, but he was expecting that much. The ground was nothing but the Goddesses red earth. The few houses and building that were there were made of stone and clay but had wooden doors and the occasional window. There were a few scattered enemies too. Link saw some new kind of bird, or maybe a bat, flying overhead that, thankfully, didn't hold a grudge on him like most did in his past adventures. He saw some slight ground shakings every once in a while and assumed that they had underground monsters, maybe some other kind of Ancient. He knew he would have to watch his step, and hope that it really was an Ancient, he was already assured that they wouldn't hurt him. He didn't see any villagers anywhere, which was strange since he had heard a few of them talking by the well what seemed hours ago but was most likely an hour at the most.  
  
Link carefully took his first step in this new land, hoping it safe, and kept his hand on the hilt of his sword. He had learned to always be ready in a foreign land. He placed his foot down a few inches forward from his other and just felt the ground. He let out the breath he had been holding and took a few more steps.  
  
Seeing it safe, Link started to naturally walk towards one of the houses. He got to a small set of clay stairs and above the door, carved into the stone, it said, "Garo Shop, find any weapons you might need for the job." Thinking this a good place to start, and maybe get some useful equipment, Link opened the door. It didn't have a handle but there was a slot in the door for him to pull open. He peered into the store and then walked in. 


	6. Chapter 5

Chapter 5: The Evil Eye  
  
The store was just a small room with a long wooden desk with which a man stood behind. There were some assorted swords of stone and bone and some shields of several different unidentifiable materials. There was one shield that caught Link's eye. It had, consequently enough, an eye carved into it. It seems to watch everything and everyone that moved, it was like the Gossip Stones that he had back home. It was made of what looked like very hard and durable bone, with a wooden rim around it. There were a few other scattered designs around the edge and such, but nothing was more intimidating than that eye. It was drawing him in. He quickly shook his head of the image of the eye but it was now too far burned into his mind. Anytime he tried to look away the burning intensified threefold. Link thought that if he didn't do something with that shield soon it would eat him alive. He quickly walked up to the scantily clad man and asked if he could buy it.  
  
"Why yes, if you have what I ask for to trade," The man said. His voice was strangely high for being the muscular, grungey man that he was. Link simply assumed that this was a village of Sopranos and went on with his trade.  
  
"What is that you ask for? I have nothing to trade, I'm...er...new in town," Link said, choosing his words carefully. He didn't wish to frighten the locals with his weird story, not when he had just arrived.  
  
"Well, you are dressed very funny, I thought you were a foreigner. All I ask for is a bottle of Spring Water from the Spring of Life on the East Side of town. I noticed your weapon and see that you are an adventurer, it's odd because we don't see many human adventurers. But unfortunately all the Garos are out saving one village or another, so I must trust this stranger to carry out my wish. I would normally never trade my wares for something so simple. But since monsters have started to invade the area around the Spring, no one has been able to venture in there and come back. So all I ask to trade is a bottle of Spring Water. I will await your return and will hold this shield for you. It's strange that you picked this particular one though..." The man said.  
  
"Why's that?" Link asked.  
  
"This was brought back from Sir Potio on one of his jobs. No one has dared even get near it, afraid that it holds the same power he does. And now you, this foreign adventurer, come in here and practically beg for it. I saw you when you came in; the evil thing had you in its glare. Bad thing to do...but that's just my opinion," The man paused for emphasis of his point. "But anyway, I'll hold this for you, and I suppose you'd need a bottle to put the water in so I'll be right back."  
  
Link was once again drawn to the shield's power as the man turned and walked into the back room. The eye seemed to grow larger and larger, sucking in all of Link's remaining power. He felt his body get heavy, he was stuck where he stood. Any attempt at moving, running, just put more weight on him.  
  
"Hmm... yesss...I see...you seek my master, Lord Potio. Very daring you are young adventurer...yet still a child and naive in your ways you are. I suppose I will follow along in your little quest, after all, I do need to return to my master, it's all part of his plan. Come Hero; let us take our leave of this place. That old high pitched geezer won't miss us," The shield said. Link stared in utter terror as the shield hopped off of its stand and slid onto Link's back, where his tiny Deku shield had been.  
  
"Ratty old thing...won't need that piece of wood anymore. Well, come on then, walk out. We've got a Dark Lo...er...Garo to follow," The shield said. Link felt his light childhood weight return to him and he quickly darted out of the shop, afraid of disobeying this shield. 


	7. Chapter 6

Chapter 6: If You Can't Take the Heat...  
  
Link peered around through the thick afternoon sunlight to try and find a good path to take to...wherever it was he needed to go. He waited for the shield to announce a way to go but when it stayed silent he began to walk. Thinking of the monster infested spring the old man had talked off, Link headed east. He was quickly losing energy, the heat was horribly overpowering him, and he hoped it wasn't too far because he didn't know how far he could go. It felt like his accidental trek through Death Mountain Crater in his last adventure. He wished now that he had his own Goron tunic, even if it would be too big. Any protection he could have against this devilish sun would be appreciated. Suddenly his shield shook.  
  
"Hey, you won't make it in this heat much longer. Hold me up to the sun, it'll be a little bit of shade. Maybe all that you need to get to the spring. And don't worry, once you get out of there it'll be night, so you can easily make it out. But be warned...strange things come out at night, those little underground crawlers are sensitive to light." The shield was slipped around Link's shoulder and he held it just where it would protect him from direct heat. Satisfied with the change in temperature, Link set off again feeling a little better.  
  
The entrance to the spring was closed by a rock fall. Link knew this had to be a trap, due to the fact that there hadn't been any kind of earthly disturbance since he'd come to this new land. He looked around for anything that might get him through, he had become quite accustom to checking for switches or arrow eyes. Seeing nothing but rocks and moss, Link turned his attention to the blocked passage. He looked all around the rocks for any holes or hidden passages. Again there was nothing. He sighed and sat down at the foot of the rock pile. He knew there had to be some catch to this but the blazing sun had scattered any thoughts he might have had and all the information that he had been given in the past day was all swirling around, blocking out any other ideas that might pop up. He had to get out of this heat but the only way to do so was to get inside, and the heat was keeping him from that. It was just a big endless heat filled cycle and he wasn't in the mood for it. He got up and pulled out his sword. Frustrated with all that he had gone through so early he swung down and hit the stones...or he thought he did. His sword swung straight through and hit the ground. Link pulled his sword out and put his hand through the pile. He smiled at his luck and walked through the opening behind the rocks.  
  
It was strangely cool inside the spring. Almost too cool for having just entered. He walked in a ways so he could actually see what the place was like. There were mounds of crystal stalactites scattered around the walls and the floor was slippery. He wished he had his iron boots, but of course he had to come, once again, completely unprepared, except for his new bow that is. What he had would have to suffice until he got more. He walked past this first room seeing nothing but the scattered crystal sculptures and a few keese that seemed to not be interested in this strangely clad foreigner. It was past the entrance that the trouble started... 


	8. Chapter 7

Chapter 7: Crystal Galore  
  
Past the entrance was a large courtyard. It was all crystallized, as the entrance was, and had quite a few more enemies. Link could see Moblins, lots of keese, and a few enemies he didn't recognize. He would have to find out about these things. He walked into the middle of the courtyard and pulled out his sword. The sound of the unsheathing rang quite a bit louder than it should have due to a tremendous amount of echo in the room and all the enemies immediately alerted to the newcomer.  
  
The keese swarmed around Link and blinded him, while the Moblins moved in to attack. Link shook a few of the keese off so he could kill them without hurting himself but the other enemies were moving in quick. It was as if they were all choreographed or something. After what seemed an hour of struggling Link rid of all the keese and was trying to hold off the Moblin army. They had long poles with a pointy crystal edge that made them hard to keep back, but he did a good job for his size. One of them dropped their pole and Link quickly reacted by pushing a foot under it and lifting up right as the Moblin bent over to pick it up. It went flying back and took down two of the anonymous enemies with it.  
  
Link picked up the pole and put his sword away. He began jabbing at Moblins, making them jump back and step on the other enemies. They all soon got aggravated of the toe stomping and fought back. No more than a minute later Link was standing by himself while the others were all fighting each other. Every once in a while Link would throw in his two rupees to the battles by tripping an unsuspecting Moblin, but then it would just get madder and fight harder.  
  
There was now only one enemy left, the best fighter of the group since it had survived. It was one of the anonymous enemies. Now that Link saw it closely he noticed that it was a large crystalline Moblin. It looked very strong, maybe strong enough to stand a chance...just maybe. Link sprang into action, he knew the crystal spear wouldn't work since the thing was crystalline, so he looked for a weakness. He thought of things that couldn't be coated in crystal...the eyes!  
  
Link pulled out his bow and took aim, but the thing was moving too quickly for Link to get a lock on its eye. He took the crystal spear and pulled the crystal point out of it. He threw it as accurately as he could at the thing's eye and got it square in the mouth. The thing started choking, for who wouldn't choke with a crystal lodged in their mouth, and Link took this opportunity to fire an arrow at it's eye. The thing would have let out a scream but its mouth was occupied so it just tried to scream and then fell. Link smiled and continued looking around the courtyard. He knew the spring would be around here, this was the main area. 


	9. Chapter 8

Chapter 8: No where left to go  
  
The courtyard was now enemy free, well, alive enemies anyway. All the carcasses lay around the slippery floor but they weren't a problem. Link saw three passages ahead, one that lead up a rock wall, with man made handles, another was a large opening in front of him, and the other was a dark and spooky passage to the left of him. He knew that not many people would want to climb up the rock wall to get to a spring, so that was out, and he figured that any dark and spooky passage could be saved for a second run-through, so he headed into the large opening.  
  
It started out smoothly; Link pretty much just walked through a wide and straight passage. Then it ended. The path just...stopped, there was no sign that anything had been here, where as before there were marks in the crystal, initials or messages carved, and stray rocks from people talking too loud. Here there was nothing. Link tried to walk through this wall as well but ended up slamming into rock. He looked all around for any sign of somewhere to go but there was none. Link frowned and headed back into the main courtyard.  
  
This time he headed into the dark passage. He couldn't tell if anyone had been here previously because he couldn't see, but he assumed that all these passages had been taken. He continued on, feeling the cold walls with his hands, and hit another dead end. He checked all the directions and found no passage. He frowned again. This was getting annoying and pointless.  
  
He headed out once again to the courtyard and shifted his weight so he could make it up the rock wall. He ignored the groans of his uncomfortable shield as he went up. This passage was strangely well lit. He knew this had to be it, why would someone take the time to light it up if it didn't lead somewhere. He headed down this passage, very curvy compared to the others, and it too ended in a rock wall.  
  
"What is with these passages!?" He shouted. A tremendous echo broke out and the walls came crashing in on him. He ran back a ways in the passage for safety. The rocks fell, and became another rock wall identical to the past three. THIS was why none of the passages led anywhere, people had caved them in, or maybe the evil in the land had caused this. Link quickly worked on opening up the passage, he still thought this was the right passage.  
  
After quite a few hours of tiring work he had the first rock wall that he had caused open. Now he was working on the second one. He figured he would make a small hole at the top to squeeze through, less work for him. He pulled out a few rocks and fit through the small hole, peering into the wide room in front of him. He snaked out of the hole and hopped off the rocks on the other side. The room was large, and there was a pool of water in the middle...a pool of water! It was the spring! 


	10. Chapter 9

Chapter 9: The Spring of...Fairies?  
  
Link ran up to the spring, surprised at how clean and pure it looked. As he neared the water a ripple shot out from the center, followed by another. The ripples came faster and faster and then the water rose. Link was showered with the flood of pure water. He shook his head to dry his face but what he saw made him rub his eyes. It was a Great Fairy, much like the ones back in Hyrule. She spun around the water before stopping a few feet in front of Link.  
  
"Hello Child, why have you come to this dangerous place? It is no longer safe for people in this age. It saddens me to think that so much evil would happen to such a beautiful place. Well, in any case, you traveled far to this place...so I should help you. I will give you a magic item passed down to all friends of fairies. It is an item said to show the way, no matter what they way may be or where it may be. Use it wisely Child, for if it is used wrong it can also show you the WRONG way. I sense a great power in you; you are on a journey, a search for someone. This item will help you dearly on this search. I too want this man to be found, for I know his true intentions. He was the one that destroyed my home here, blocked the entrance. Yet you, a traveler wise beyond your years, found a way through. You can complete this quest, and you will. I can sense it. Now you must go, for this man already knows of what you are trying to do and he will send reinforcements. I don't think you want to be here when they arrive, nor do I, but I haven't a choice. A fairy is bound to one place, and I am forever bound here. So go on Child, complete your quest and let nothing hinder you, for you are the only thing that can stop you, Hero of Time."  
  
As Link left with his new item in hand, a lens very much like the Lens of Truth he had gotten in his past adventure, he thought about the Fairy's words. "Only you can stop you, Hero of Time." There was a hidden message here; he knew it. First of all how did she know he was the Hero of Time? This was a faraway land where he had never even been heard of, if he even existed here. And also as she had said that the battle against Shadow Link in the Water Temple he had visited popped into his head. That was too much of a coincidence to not mean something. He didn't know it yet but the Fairy would be more help to him than he imagined.  
  
Link was back at the entrance of this place when he remembered he hadn't asked for a bottle of the Spring Water. He silently cursed himself for forgetting something that important and ran back. He was up the rock wall when he heard a voice down the hall, where the fairy was. He couldn't quite hear what the voices were saying because the echo was too far strung to understand.  
  
He crept closer, trying not to make a sound as he passed the first rock wall he had cleared. He stepped on a loose rock in front of him and the voices stopped. He clung to a dark part of the wall and hoped they wouldn't come look for him. After what seemed an hour the voices continued, but softer. He could almost make out the words now but figured it safer to get closer. He watched closely for rocks as he crept up to the second rock wall. He knew would make too much noise getting through it so he just looked through the hole and listened.  
  
"What did you say to the boy? If you said anything important I swear to the Gods you won't ever see past this Spring."  
  
"I...I didn't say anything, I swear. I asked what he was doing here and told him to leave. It's the honest truth Sir, please don't hurt me!" This voice was the fairy's. Link couldn't tell the other one, it sounded dark and mysterious though and the word 'Sir' made him think of Potio. He couldn't believe the fairy was lying to this man to save him, when it could mean the worst of worst for her. He made a note to come back and thank her when this quest was over before slipping back out the passage. He might not have heard much but he feared that if he stayed too long he wouldn't make it out.  
  
He was outside soon enough, and it was just turning to night. It was a relief to him because this night was cool, and he had been enjoying the cool crystal inside. He made his way back to the town still waterless, but in high hopes of the things to come. 


	11. Chapter 10

Chapter 10: The Busy Town  
  
It was the next morning. Link had spent the night in an uncomfortable inn on the north side of town. It was close to the entrance so he could make an early start. He just finished eating a rather unsatisfactory meal and was about to head out when one of the locals stopped him.  
  
"You forgot your lens thing Mister!" He shouted, chasing after the boy.  
  
"Oh, thank you very much. That was very kind of you," Link said. He shook hands with the man, took his lens, and turned back towards the doors.  
  
"Wait...um...do you mind if I ask where you're headed?" The man asked.  
  
"Not at all, because I don't know where it is. I'm trying to find someone, and I'm hoping that if I just head out then I'll find him. It's not much to go on but it's all I have. Why do you ask?"  
  
"Because we don't get many visitors here, especially not ones dressed like you. I thought we might have upset you and you were just leaving to find someplace better. I didn't want you to think we were bad people..." The man said, slightly ashamed.  
  
"It's okay, you were very satisfactory. I enjoyed my stay very much, and it was helpful on my quest. I'm only leaving because I'd like to get back home. I can't do that until I complete my quest. Now if you don't mind I really need to get going, I don't want to get stuck in the heat."  
  
"Oh yes, I'm sorry sir. Please, go on. And I wish you luck on your quest." The man turned back around and Link opened the door. He saw that it was still morning and relatively cool. Perfect time to set out. He smiled and left the town.  
  
Link was in a large field. It was grassy and surrounded by small creatures, nothing that would want to put up a fight. Link walked on cautiously, heeding the advice of the fairy and watching out for anything Potio might have sent for him. As he headed into the main part of the field he saw passages in all directions. One was a beach; he wasn't ready to head back into hot weather again so he kept looking. Another was a forest, Link was never much for dense, closed in areas like forests so he decided to put that on hold too. Another was the passage he just came out of, the one that led to the desert town. The last was blocked by a large rock; he couldn't do anything there yet. Then Link turned his attention to the large town in the middle of it all. It looked as big as the main area of Hyrule, the Market Town and Castle, and had a large structure in the middle of it. He headed to this town, eager to find a place to ask around at. He hoped to do as good here as he did at the last town. If he could then he'd have this quest over in no time.  
  
Link entered the north door into the town. There was a guard in front of it but his sword was enough clearance to enter. He saw that this area was very grassy, with a few hills on each side. It was very open save for the occasional person that would wander up there. Link headed down a stairway to the south, which lead into another part of town that seemed to be the main area. There were people all over and the base of the large structure stood here. This town was so far barely more primitive than the last town. Everything was made of wood or stone, the occasional weak metals were scattered around. He remembered that the guard had been wearing all tin, a strange metal for a guard of his rank. He had been mesmerized by Link's strong iron sword. That was the first person he could remember that was envious of his little Kokiri knife. The thought made Link laugh, but then he straightened up when he saw a statue of the owl that had always stalked him during his last journey. It had its wings tucked up around its body and it had a stone hard face. Link saw something engraved on a wing. It said "Find my tune to soar to your destination". Link thought about this for a few minutes. Maybe there were warp songs here too, Link remembered Princess Zelda teaching him songs to travel to different places. Maybe if he could find the owl here, even though he didn't know how it could get here, then it would teach him a song to fly to Potio's location. Link knew what to do; he had to find this bird.  
  
He began questioning the locals about if they'd seen an owl anywhere. None of them knew what he was talking about. He sighed and continued his search around the rest of the town. He took another staircase and found himself in a long passage with some stores around. Or they could have been called stores; they were really just people standing behind booths with their wares laid out in front of them. Link recognized a few of the items: arrows, long sticks that looked like his deku sticks but couldn't have been, a sign that said out of stock, he guessed that was for bombs. They always seemed popular. A magic container, that wouldn't do him any good yet. Link searched his pockets for any rupees he might have had. He had twenty. He went up to the store owner and asked what the stick item was. The owner said it was a Fire Stick, it was used for transporting fire. Link smiled, the deku stick had been copied. He bought a few of the 'Fire Sticks' and thanked the shop owner before wandering on. He saw a door that said "Sword Master" on it and he entered. It would be amusing to see how good someone was at fighting here, after all, if the guards had little tin swords then what would this guy have? Link opened the door and stepped in. 


	12. Chapter 11

Chapter 11: Battling the Master  
  
The man was young, maybe in his mid-twenties, and had a long blade in his lap. It looked like iron, but Link couldn't tell. The man was covered mostly in a long cloak, but part of his face was uncovered, showing his youth.  
  
"Greetings, Adventurer. Are you here to learn the ways of swordplay?" The man asked.  
  
"No, I'm here to see how good you are. I've done plenty of fighting, and I think I can beat you."  
  
The man laughed. "You? Beat me? I am the best sword fighter in all the land. You are a kid. I'll teach you to respect your elders." And with that the man leapt over the counter and was in an immediate fighting stance. Link quickly followed with his tiny sword. The man laughed again.  
  
"A little kid with a little blade, this will be interesting!" The man said. He swung at Link but was quickly parried. Link returned the favor with a jab at the man's unprotected area. The man jumped back and did a front flip, landing a few inches in front of Link and slashing at his face. Link jumped to the side and turned to face the man.  
  
"What happened to your cockiness? I thought you were supposed to be beating me," Link said before doing a spin attack that knocked the man back, his leg was bleeding. It was deep wound, narrowly missing the bone.  
  
"You are very good, I'll give you that, but a wound does not render a man useless. It gives him a will to fight harder." The man wiped the blood off the leg and continued fighting. Link could tell he couldn't go on much longer, the wound was too deep. Link had to find a way to get him to stop long enough to bandage it or he wouldn't make it through the battle. A sword slice an inch from his face made Link put his attention back on the battle. The man was in a lot of pain but still putting up a fight. Link had to hand it to the man for courage, but there was also a lot of stupidity that clouded his judgment. Not the signs of a Master at all. Link took the defense now; he didn't want to hurt the man anymore. He parried attacks constantly and was waiting for the man to realize he was too hurt and just fall. He knew he couldn't make the man stop without hurting him more. After another ten minutes of blocking the man finally gave in to the pain. Link acted quickly and tore off the piece of his cloak that had been shredded when Link cut him and used it as a bandage. The man smiled.  
  
"I underestimated you, I'm sorry. What's your name Kid?"  
  
"Link. And you didn't underestimate me, any normal kid would have lost to you...but I'm not normal."  
  
"I see...do you have a story or something?" The man asked. "It's not like I'm going anywhere quick."  
  
"I suppose I could tell you, you might be able to help me..." Link told the man his story, about being the Hero of Time and about the strange man that sent him here. When he was done the man was staring at him in shock.  
  
"You are different...that is the most fascinating story I've ever heard. And if you need to know about Potio...I can actually help." 


	13. Chapter 12

Chapter 12: Rude Interruption  
  
Link and the Sword Master talked for quite a few hours about Potio. It was soon night and Link yawned.  
  
"I'm sorry, all this information must have bored you stiff. You might be a hero but you're still a kid, and you need your rest if we're to take off to finish this quest," the Master said.  
  
"Yeah, you're probably righ...wait, WE?" Link said, shocked.  
  
"Oh yes, you didn't think I'd let you go alone after all we've shared. Potio is a strong and formidable enemy; you can't take him alone. No matter how many giant pig monsters you've defeated back home you haven't seen anyone like him. You will need the help of someone from this world to make it, trust me. Now anymore questions you have will have to wait until morning, we're going to bed. I've got an extra bed in back for you; I always keep a spare just in case. You would be surprised how many people want me to help them in their 'journeys'." The man got up, winced at the sudden pain in his leg, and limped to the back. Link slowly got up and followed.  
  
It was late; midnight had been hours before. The two swordsmen were fast asleep and unprepared. The door opened with no more than a slight creak. A cloaked head popped in. Seeing the coast clear the rest of the body crept in and the door slowly closed behind it. The hooded figure crept into the place and slowly made its way to the back. It saw the two motionless people in the beds and smiled. This would be too easy; Master Potio would be pleased.  
  
The figure slowly climbed over the counter, trying to avoid the objects scattered on it for decoration. The figure pulled out a long sword and held it over the snoring body of the Sword Master. It raised the blade...and it hit the wall with a loud 'ting'. Link awoke with a start to see the figure with the sword a few inches above his face, and moving away. It was trying to kill the Sword Master! Link reacted as quickly as he could half asleep. He reached for his sword but remembered he had placed it farther back in case anyone sneaked in. Looks like it didn't do much good. Link grabbed the figure's cloak and pulled, making him miss the Sword Master when he let the sword down and instead cutting the sheets an inch or so away. The figure turned around and stared Link straight in the face.  
  
"Potio will have your head for this!" And with that, he disappeared. Link thought it odd that this apparent assassin wouldn't have just killed the unarmed Link right then, but he guessed that it was just following orders, whatever those orders might have been. Link couldn't go back to sleep now so he just lay in his bed, thinking about what lay ahead in the journey and about what he had been told about Potio. It was enough to think about until morning.  
  
The next morning the Sword Master awoke to see Link already ready. He had his sword and shield on, and was fully dressed.  
  
"Well, you're an early bird!" The Master said with a smile.  
  
"The early bird gets the worm, and I do mean Potio," Link said. He looked completely serious and determined now. The Sword Master noticed a new fire in him that hadn't been there before.  
  
"Did something happen last night that I don't know about? You seem a lot more determined," The Sword Master said.  
  
"I'll tell you on the way. By the way, you never told me your name..." Link said.  
  
The Master smiled. "It's Yaron."  
  
"Pleased to meet you Yaron, shall we be going?" Link asked. Yaron had been getting ready as they were talking and was now in traveling garb, a brown tunic and a shield a lot like Link's.  
  
"Yes, we must hurry if you want to get home quickly, we have far to travel." Yaron said. Link rushed out the door behind Yaron and the real journey began, and this time he had a destination.  
  
End of Part 1 


End file.
